The Melody of You and Me (Lillac Town, #1) by M. Hollis

Okay, first and foremost, you all need to know that I ID as pansexual. And my friend, Alexis, who I buddy read this with identifies as pansexual. And this is a story about a pansexual girl falling in love. And if that’s not one of the cutest things you’ve seen this Pride, I don’t have words for you. 💖💛💙

“…when people doubt her sexuality. Or the times when she needs to explain why she just feels more comfortable using pansexual than bisexual”

But real talk, this is honestly a story about a pansexual music-loving girl, falling in love with a Filipina lesbian ballerina, while they both work at a bookstore together. This book even shouts out Melissa de La Cruz, Mina V. Esguerra, and Rin Chupeco! Like, does that not already sound like a masterpiece?

The Melody of You and Me is a sweet, heartwarming, beautiful novella about two girls coming together and discovering who they want to be and who they want to be together. It’s quick, and fast paced, but I was smiling the entire time while reading. And there are a couple really steamy and sexy scenes in this, too!

“When you grow up hearing that you are not tall enough, not skinny enough, not white enough, you always wonder about how the world would be if you didn’t need to conform to all these ridiculous standards.”

But this book also has a lot of important things that it discusses! This book talks about masturbation and how we normalize it for boys, but never for girls. This book talks about coming out to your family, and how sometimes it feels like you can’t do it alone, no matter what age you are. This book talks about how society puts so much pressure on kids to go to college straight out of high school, never giving them a chance to breathe and think about the choice they are about to make that will change their very lives forever. This book talks about white privilege and the way white people can react when people of color are in those “white spaces”, especially if they are excelling in those spaces. Like, there is so much good in this book!

“Why do they never let young people stop to think? Why is it unacceptable to take a little time to figure out what she wants to do for the rest of her life?”

I see a few people saying this book is hard to read, but I didn’t feel that way at all. Do I think this book reads easy and somewhat simplistic? Yes, very much so. But never difficult to read. And obviously other people’s opinions are valid, but I want to also say that M. Hollis is a Brazilian author, who wrote this book in a language that is not her first. Honestly? It blows me away how well written it is.

Overall, I can’t tell you how much this meant to me. I can’t believe that it took me over twenty years of reading to finally read the word “pansexual” in a romance novel. I could write an entire review on how depressing it is to make an entire TBR of LGBTQIAP+ reads for Pride, but to only be able to pick from five mainstream books that have the word “pansexual” even in them. This book honestly feels like it was written for me, and it will forever and always have a piece of my heart. And I will cherish it being in my library forever. And this is the cute, happy, fluffy, validating, love story that I’ve been looking for my whole life!

“She wishes they could stay like this forever. Just the two of them; telling stories and sharing secrets without a care in the world.”

Wonderful review! Already adding it to my TBR list. One thing I’ve been striving to do is find diverse novels. I can honestly say that I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with a pansexual character. The only one I can think of is Tyler in Cereus Blooms at Night and his love interest, but it’s been so long that I don’t fully remember. It’s great seeing more diverse literature in the world.

Awh, this comment warms my entire soul! Thank you for it, Jenna! It was my friend time reading about a main pan character! I still can’t believe it! This book is a little hard to track down, but I hope it becomes easier soon! Because… it’s so worth it! But happy reading, love! ❤ xx

Ok, so I do not read romance. I know, I know. I have nothing against the genre but after several failed attempts, I just gave up. But this appeals to me on so many levels! It covers some topics that speak to the heart of me and is going on the list for when I feel like trying again 💖 Love this review and love you!

Babe, you are always valid with me! I promise! The only thing I’ll say about this is… it’s hard to find! I bought the ebook a long, long, time ago, and I can’t find a good place to buy it now! It obviously just means that you need to come to Vegas an read on my ipad, imo! But yeah, this would book a good pick for you! Not only is it good and diverse, it’s also on the shorter side, so it won’t be too bogged down! I completely recommend, if you can find (or if you come here, lmao!) Happy reading, my love! 💗xx

I will actually be there in August haha, but with kiddos and noninlaws, do I do not think reading will be in the mix too much 💖💖💖 It will be weird to have kids in town at Vegas but should be fun! Thank you so much! Keeping my eyes peeled for it and checking my library! xx 😘